Shank button feeder



Jan. 15, 1963 MEDOFF SHANK BUTTON FEEDER Filed June 24, 1959 INVENTOR mA a. k

-- u m nu I Medan? 6 M ATTORNEY 3,073,483 SHANK BUTTON FEEDER IrvingMedolf, Seaford, N.Y., assignor to Emsig Manufacturing Co., New York,NY. Filed June 24, 1959, Ser. No. 822,547 2 Claims. (Cl. 221-186) Thisinvention relates to a shank button feeder, and more particularly to afeeder for use in conjunction with a button sewing machine.

Still more particularly, this invention relates to an automatic shankbutton feeder adapted without alteration or adjustment, to feed tosewing position shank buttons having a wide variety of head sizes.

Still more particularly, this invention relates to an improvement inshank button feeders of the type shown in U.S. Patent No. 2,597,912,issued May 27, 1952, and No. 2,830,549, of April 15, 1958, to William A.Troll, which improvement thereover permits the aforesaid button feedersto be used without adjustment or alteration to feed shank buttons of astill wider variety of head sizes than was heretofore possible throughthe use of the afore mentioned patented feeders.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improvedshank button feeder useful in conjunction with known button sewingmachines which can feed buttons having the range of head sizes from 13lignes and under, to 35 lignes and over, without requiring adjustment oralteration.

A'further object of this invention is to provide an improved shankbutton feeder.

To attain these objects and such further objects as may appear herein orhereinafter be pointed out, I make reference to the accompanyingdrawing, forming a part hereof, in which- FIGURE 1 is a side elevationalview of the button feeder assembly;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to the view of FIGURE 1, in the raisedposition of the presser foot;

FIGURE 3 is a magnified section taken on the lines 3-3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a magnified section taken on the lines 44 of FIGURE 1.

Making reference to the drawings, there is provided a chute or raceway10, including a rear wall 11, and separated front walls 12 and 13,defining therebetween a slot 14. The chute 10, at its uppermost end, iscommunicated with a button hopper (not shown) adapted to introduce intosaid chute, shank buttons oriented so that the head portion H of thesaid buttons is guided interiorly of the walls 10, 11 and 12 of thechute, and the shank S is projected laterally outwardly through the slot14. The hopper portion does not form a part of this invention, asuitable hopper being described and illustrated in the aforesaid TrollPatent No. 2,597,912.

At the lowermost end 15 of the chute or raceway there are provided upperand lower spring clamping fingers '16 and 17, respectively, spaced todefine a continuation of the slot 14 of the chute or raceway 10. Apresser foot 18, comprising the lowermost portion of the chute assembly,is connected'to the conventional lift bar (not shown) of the sewingmachine, said lift bar serving to raise and lower presser foot 18 to theupper and lower limiting positions shown in FIGURES 2 and 1,respectively, such movement being a generally vertical movement.

A lever 20, pivotally secured at 21 behind the chute it), carries thefeeder pawl 22', which is mounted on trunnion 23 at the end 24 of thearm 20. A headed bolt 25, tapped into trunnion 23 of the arm 20, isprovided, in addition, with a lock nut 26 for purposes which will appearhereafter. The pawl 24 is provided with a finger ice 30 lying adjacentwalls 12, 13 of the chute. A camming surface is formed on the pawl 22,adjacent the finger 30', to provide, upon raising of the presser foot,for a downward and forward sweeping movement of the finger 39 relativeto and adjacent the chute 10.

While the operation of the pawl 22 and finger 33 under the influence ofthe cam surface 31 will be described in some detail in connection withthe operation of this device, a fuller description of a similar cam andpawl member may be had by referring to the aforesaid Troll Patent No.2,830,549.

The pawl 22 is maintained in contact with a follower 35 in the form of aroller by a coiled spring 36 tensioned between a tail piece 37 formed onthe rearward part 38 of the cam 22, and a stud 39 secured to the chute10. The roller 35 is provided with a flange 40, laterally spaced fromthe chute 10 a distance approximately equal to the thickness of the pawl22, thereby serving to keep the pawl 22. and its associated finger 30 inclose adjacency to the outer face of the walls 12, 13, throughout allmovements of the pawl with respect to the chute 1.0.

In order to permit the use of shank buttons having a wide range of headsizes, there is provided a holdback or spacer member 45, mounted forpivotal movement in avertical plane about a stud 46, which is providedwith a washer 47, adapted to maintain the holdback mem; ber in closeadjacency to the wall 13 of the chute 10'. The tensioned coil spring 48is spanned between a fixed stud 49 carried by an extension 50 of thechute assembly 10, and a laterally offset lug 51 extending from 1a tailportion of the member 45. The effect of the spring 48 is to apply to theholdback member 45 a clockwise torque when viewed in the positions shownin FIGURES 1 and 2, the co-action of tail piece 52 of the holdbackmember with the abutment 53 of the extension 50 serving to restrainclockwise movement of the holdback 45 beyond the position shown inFIGURE 1.

The forward end 54 of the holdback 45 is prov-idedwith a cam nose orface 55 in leading position with respect to the direction of travel ofbuttons in the chute/10. The cam face 55 is normally projected by theaction of spring 48 into a position adjacent slot 14 of the chute 19,and serves to block buttons from descending to the spring fingers 16, 17by engagement with the buttons, preferably employing the shank as thepoint of engagement in opposition to the finger feed 30.

The minimum spacing between the shank blocking part of cam face 55 andthe leading button engaging face'30q of the finger 30 in the positionoccupied by' such leading face after a button has been advanced tosewing position, as shown in FIGURE 2, is critical to the successfuloperation of the feeder. Thus, I have determined that the aforesaidparts in the positions previously'described, must be spaced apart aminimum distance in excess of the diameter of the largest button to besewn, minus thewidth of a button shank. For instance, if a 301ignebutton (a ligne comprising 4 of an inch) is the largest button to beused and the constant shank size of the buttons used is' 8 lignes, theleading. edge 30a of the finger 30 in the position shown in FIGURE 2must be spaced from the button blocking part of the cam face 55 (whenthe space is projected into the path of the button shanks) a distance inexcess of 30 minus 8, or 22 lignes. Where, as here, a non-linear chuteis involved, the spacing heretofore defined and hereafter claimed shallbe measured along the path of button travel.

I have likewise determined that the locationof the point at which theportion 30a of finger 30 enters the path'lof travel of the button shanksis critical to the operation of the feeder. Thus, successful operationshavebeen determined to depend upon the entry by the part 30a rearwardlyof the projected blocking part of the cam face 55 a distance in excessof the width of a button shank, but less than the diameter of thesmallest button to be sewn. Thus, if the feeder is to be used forbuttons having a shank width of 8 lignes, and the smallest button to besewn is a 13 ligne button, the leading edge 30a of finger 30 must enterbehind the blocking part of cam face 55 a distance greater than 8lignes, but less than 13 lignes.

In operation, buttons B are fed to the chute from a hopper (not shown),and are oriented in said chute so that the shank portions S, by reasonof their substantially hour glass cross section, are projected laterallyoutwardly through the slot 14 defined by the walls 12 and 13, formingthe side wall of the chute 10. The buttons B descend down the chute 10,until their flow is interrupted by the cam face or nose 55 of the pawl45.

Reference will now be made to FIGURE 1, wherein the leading button B1 isdepicted as having been sewn but still clamped by the fingers 16,.17,and the presser foot 18 against the anvil A of the sewing machine. Oncompletion of the sewing operation, the lift bar (not shown) will raisethe presser foot 18, causing the bolt 25 to bear against theunder-surface of the sewing head H, thus forcing the lever 20 to pivotabout the point 21 against the tensioning action of the spring 36. Thedownward pivotal movement of the lever 20 will cause the cam surface 31to ride along the follower 35, causing an initial downward movement ofthe finger 30. As the presser foot 18 progresses toward the fully raisedposition shown in FIGURE 2, the finger 30 and leading edge part 30a willengage behind the second button B2, engaging the shank S, of the saidbutton. The slope of the cam surface 31 is such that the initialdownward movement of the finger 30 with respect to the chute 10 isfollowed by a primarily forward movement whereby the button B2 is forcedby the finger 30 to the forward or sewing position shown in FIGURE 2. Inthe course of such forward movement, the forward part of the shank S ofthe button B2 will coact with the cam face 55 of the holdback 45,causing the said holdback to be moved out of the path of the shank ofbutton B2, against the biasing pressure of the spring 48. When thetrailing portion of the shank of button B2 has passed beyond the nose ofcam face 55, holdback 45 is permitted to snap back into the path of thenext succeeding button B3 and to restrain the same against movementtoward the clamping fingers 16, 17. As the button B2 is shifted intosewing position, see FIGURE 2, the initial or first button B1 will beejected from engagement with the fingers 16, 17, by the action of gileperiphery of the button B2 against that of the button A trailing stopsurface 31a is provide on the cam face 31 of the pawl 22, to assure thatbuttons advanced to the sewing position will be accurately aligned withrespect to the sewing machine M.

The adjustment bolt 25 and its associated lock nut 26 are providedmainly to control the rearward alignment of the finger 30 when the pawl22 occupies the position shown in FIGURE 1, it being understood,however, that once correct adjustment of the bolt 25 is accomplished, nofurther adjustment of such bolt need be effected to permit the device tobe used with buttons having varying head sizes. It will be readilyrecognized that the operation of the device is dependent upon theprovision of shank buttons having constant shank widths since the pointof blockage by the cam nose 55 and the point of advance between theneedle N of the machine will be altered if the button shank widths vary.

The criticality of the spacings previously set forth will be moreclearly understood when it is recalled that when using the largestbutton for which the feeder is adapted, the next succeeding button B2must be restrained a distance sufficient to prevent engagement of theperipheries of the heads of the first button B1 and the second buttonB2, so that the second button will lie against the cam face 55 ratherthan being restrained rearwardly by engagement of the cam face 55 by theperiphery of the button being sewn.

Similarly, the finger 30 must not be permitted to enter too farrearwardly of the cam face 55 since, if small buttons were used, entrytoo far rearwardly of the cam face might result in engagement of thefinger 30 with the shank of the button B3 (the button in trailingposition of the one restrained by the holdback 45).

It will be readily recognized by one skilled in the button feeder art,that the limitation in range of button sizes which may be fed by thefeeder herein described is theoretically unlimited, the range of 13 to35 ligne buttons, herein mentioned, being illustrative only.Accordingly, this invention is to be differentiated from the Trollfeeder described and claimed in US. Patent No. 2,830,549 which providesa limited range of variability in button sizes and requires a morecomplex camming design to make this limited range workable.

Having thus described the invention and illustrated its use, what isclaimed as new and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A shank button feeder for use in combination with a button sewingmachine to sew without adjustment buttons of a wide variety of headsizes but having shanks of uniform size, comprising an extended buttonchute adapted slidingly to receive the head portion of shank buttons andto project the shank portion laterally outwardly through a slot formedin a wall of said chute, means at one end of said chute to supplybuttons to said chute, the other end of said chute having asubstantially vertically moveable work engageable presser foot includingbutton clamping means at a terminal part of the presser foot, a pawlmember moveable with respect to said chute responsive to relativemovement of said presser foot to said sewing machine, a finger carriedby said pawl to be adjacent said slotted wall of said chute andarranged, upon raising of said presser foot to be shifted by said pawlprogressively downwardly into the path of said buttons and forwardly toa predetermined button sewing position adjacent said button clampingmeans, the entry of said finger into the said path being readwardly ofsaid predetermined position a distance at least equal to twice thediameter of the largest button to be sewn and means having a cam noseportion normally projected into the path of said button shanks torestrain flow of buttons down said chute, the shank engaging face ofsaid nose portion being spaced from said button sewing position of saidclamping means a distance in excess of the diameter of the largestbutton to be sewn minus the width of said uniform sized shanks, thepoint of entry of said finger of said pawl into said path beingrearwardly of the shank of the button engaging said nose and forwardlyof the shank of the next succeeding button whereby a variety of buttonhead sizes may be used in the feeder without adjustment of the feederparts to each other.

2. A shank button feeder for use in combination with a button sewingmachine to sew without adjustment thereof to accommodate buttons of awide variety of head sizes, but having shanks having a predeterminedsize, comprising an extended button chute adapted slidingly to receivethe head portion of shank buttons and to project the shank portionlaterally outwardly through a slot formed in a wall of said chute, meansat one end of said chute to supply buttons to said chute in edge-to-edgerelation, the other end of said chute having a substantially verticallymoveable presser foot including button clamping fingers at a terminalpart of the presser foot, a pawl member moveable with respect to saidchute responsive to relative movement of said presser foot to saidsewing machine, a finger carried by said pawl to be adjacent saidslotted wall of said chute and arranged, upon raising of said presserfoot, to be shifted by said pawl progressively downwardly into the pathof said button shanks and forwardly to a predetermined button sewingposition adjacent said clamping fingers, the entry of said finger intothe said path being rearwardly of said predetermined position a distanceat least equal to twice the diameter of the largest button to be sewn,and a holdback member having a blocking portion to one side of said slotspring biased normally to be in blocking position in the path of saidbutton shanks, said blocking portion being spaced rearwardly from theleading edge of said finger when in button sewing position a distance inexcess of the diameter of the largest button to be sewn minus the widthof said shank, the point of entry of said finger of said pawl into saidpath being rearwardly of the shank of the button engaging said blockingportion and forwardly of the shank of the next succeeding button wherebya variety of button head sizes may be used in the feeder withoutadjustment of the feeder parts to each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS386,856 Thayer July 31, 1888 502,327 Stimpson Aug. 1, 1893 2,597,912Troll May 27, 1952 10 2,661,709 Troll Dec. 8, 1953 2,814,393 Buck Nov,26, 1957

1. A SHANK BUTTON FEEDER FOR USE IN COMBINATION WITH A BUTTON SEWINGMACHINE TO SEW WITHOUT ADJUSTMENT BUTTONS OF A WIDE VARIETY OF HEADSIZES BUT HAVING SHANKS OF UNIFORM SIZE, COMPRISING AN EXTENDED BUTTONCHUTE ADAPTED SLIDINGLY TO RECEIVE THE HEAD PORTION OF SHANK BUTTONS ANDTO PROJECT THE SHANK PORTION LATERALLY OUTWARDLY THROUGH A SLOT FORMEDIN A WALL OF SAID CHUTE, MEANS AT ONE END OF SAID CHUTE TO SUPPLYBUTTONS TO SAID CHUTE, THE OTHER END OF SAID CHUTE HAVING ASUBSTANTIALLY VERTICALLY MOVEABLE WORK ENGAGEABLE PRESSER FOOT INCLUDINGBUTTON CLAMPING MEANS AT A TERMINAL PART OF THE PRESSER FOOT, A PAWLMEMBER MOVEABLE WITH RESPECT TO SAID CHUTE RESPONSIVE TO RELATIVEMOVEMENT OF SAID PRESSER FOOT TO SAID SEWING MACHINE, A FINGER CARRIEDBY SAID PAWL TO BE ADJACENT SAID SLOTTED WALL OF SAID CHUTE AND ARRANGEDUPON RAISING OF SAID PRESSER FOOT TO BE SHIFTED BY SAID PAWLPROGRESSIVELY DOWNWARDLY INTO THE PATH OF SAID BUTTONS AND FORWARDLY TOA PREDETERMINED BUTTON SEWING POSITION ADJACENT SAID BUTTON CLAMPINGMEANS, THE ENTRY OF SAID FINGER INTO THE SAID PATH BEING READWARDLY OFSAID PREDETERMINED POSITION A DISTANCE AT LEAST EQUAL TO TWICE THEDIAMETER OF THE LARGEST BUTTON TO BE SEWN AND MEANS HAVING A CAM NOSEPORTION NORMALLY PROJECTED INTO THE PATH OF SAID BUTTON SHANKS TORESTRAIN FLOW OF BUTTONS DOWN SAID CHUTE, THE SHANK ENGAGING FACE OFSAID NOSE PORTION BEING SPACED FROM SAID BUTTON SEWING POSITION OF SAIDCLAMPING MEANS A DISTANCE IN EXCESS OF THE DIAMETER OF THE LARGESTBUTTON TO BE SEWN MINUS THE WIDTH OF SAID UNIFORM SIZED SHANKS, THEPOINT OF ENTRY OF SAID FINGER OF SAID PAWL INTO SAID PATH BEINGREARWARDLY OF THE SHANK OF THE BUTTON ENGAGING SAID NOSE AND FORWARDLYOF THE SHANK OF THE NEXT SUCCEEDING BUTTON WHEREBY A VARIETY OF BUTTONHEAD SIZES MAY BE USED IN THE FEEDER WITHOUT ADJUSTMENT OF THE FEEDERPARTS TO EACH OTHER.